Of the Female Persuasion
by Moony92
Summary: AU - Death Note. Usagi is the second oldest child in the Yagami family, adopted when she was only 4. And during the Kira investigation, L has taken an interest in the pretty blonde. /OneShot/


**Of the Female Persuasion  
****Anime(s):** Death Note X Sailor Moon  
**Timeline:** AU, during the discovery of the 2nd Kira  
**Genre:** romance, general  
**Pairing:** L x Usagi, AU one-shot

**Disclaimer:** Death Note © Tsugumi Ooba & Takesho Obata. Sailor Moon © Naoko Takeuchi. Although these anime series' do not belong to me, I am not in any way writing this for unlawful monetary benefit whatsoever. I'm just a fan of both shows that is entitled to some major fangirling.

**Warnings:** Mild Sexual innuendo and situations.

**-X-**

_"__My tremendous intuitive sense of the female creature informs me that you are troubled." –_ Jack Sparrow

**-X-**

Usagi is the attractive, average middle child of Souichirou and Sachiko Yagami, not unlike her younger sister Sayu. Upon first glance, she appears to be just like any other average 17-year-old schoolgirl, albeit spoilt and rather unintelligible at times. Her personal records, however, state that she was adopted into the Yagami family at the age of four…

She is like a force of nature, the way she slinks her way into the Kira Investigation and, inexorably, his life. It began the moment Souichirou Yagami had survived a mild heart attack. She had insisted that her daddy's welfare was her responsibility. The surrogate father had helped raise her into a healthy young woman, after all. It was only natural that she'd return the favor.

At first, L finds her to be a liability. A serious serial killing investigation is no place for an underachieving schoolgirl. But he is impressed with the sheer determination and bravado she displays by openly risking her life to aid her father, assisting the taskforce in any way she possibly could. She is not above any assignment they ask of her, big or small. Her ideals are noteworthy and she is noble in general.

Souichirou-san is incapable of saying no to his adoptive daughter's imploring doe-eyed expressions, which makes it all the more easier to infiltrate their whereabouts. She is indefinitely a Daddy's Girl. It is difficult to deny her of anything. Because of this, she visits their ever-shifting headquarters regularly without a problem.

The taskforce grew to enjoy her; she has become something of a little sister to all of them and everyone's grown to look forward to her frequent visits. Matsuda seems to take pleasure in her company the most, but it isn't surprising since he _is_ known to be relatively childish anyway, being the youngest in the taskforce besides L and Raito.

L likes her, too.

He likes the scent of her, the scent of roses and strawberries and something unidentifiably sweet that is a fragrance all her own. He likes that her scent could only be flagrant when in certain proximity, because he enjoys being near her as well.

He likes that she smiles so easily and without a hint of irony, and how genuine her happiness is, and how she looks at him like he is dear to her heart. She looks at everyone she cares for like that, but it is meaningful all the same.

He likes playing chess with her, for even when she is terrible at the game and she knows she will lose, she still wishes to play with him. It isn't characteristic of him, but he finds himself not caring if he wins or loses when he plays chess with her. He often gives her advice as they challenge each other, almost unconsciously; even when she complains that she doesn't want any help from her own opponent. It is embarrassing, according to her. Never mind the fact that she has never won a game of chess against him since they'd met.

It is almost 10 AM when Usagi arrives at the hotel suite on a Saturday morning, waiting patiently for any member of the taskforce to let her in. She is eager to enter, because she has brought strawberry-vanilla shortcake from a nearby pastry shop and is excited to eat it the moment she finds a fork and plate.

"Hello, Ryuuzaki-kun," She smiles at him as he opens the door. He is looking typical with his loose-fitting blue jeans and white pullover hanging on him like thin wrinkled drapes, a shock of wild black hair on his head and wide unblinking eyes staring at her almost innocently. His stare lingers downward, noticing the doggy bag in her arms.

"Another treat?" L asks needlessly, almost smiling as he notes the logo of a local pastry shop on the plastic bag.

"Strawberry and vanilla shortcake," Usagi informs him with a hint of pride, her smile broadening. L opens the door wider and motions for her to enter, his actions slightly more eager than usual, but that was likely due to the prospect of eating cake as soon as possible.

"You're such a gentleman!" Usagi teases, gratefully entering the room, and noticing at once that it is empty. She blinks, slightly perplexed, but she does not say anything. Placing the shortcake on the small coffee table nearby, she begins to shed her black woolen overcoat.

"Thank you," L mumbles. He moves to stand behind her and helps pull off her jacket, discreetly breathing in the scent at the nape of her neck. Usagi is relatively oblivious to this as she thanks him, and begins to unravel the thick pink scarf draped around her neck. Pointlessly, L moves to help remove that as well. Usagi notices this. He lingers closely, too long that it is noticeably unnecessary. But she doesn't say anything, unsure of whether to be dismissive or flattered—or perhaps even frightened.

Usagi has always liked L, or Ryuuzaki as she knew him, in spite of his strange quirks and slightly disheveled appearance. He is amusing and loves sweets as much as she does. She doesn't feel as undermined around him, because he doesn't treat her as if she were delicate or some sisterly charge. He treats her as a woman, not a child.

Ryuuzaki seems childish, but he certainly isn't a child—Usagi is beginning to question if he is really even human. At the very least, she is fairly sure that that is the case. He is unlike any boy or young man she has ever met. He is something entirely different, foreign and exotic and pleasantly new.

She likes it.

The young man is 25 years old, but still awkwardly childlike in the way he gives off the impression of unassuming innocence. And behind the facade there is something strangely mature, almost inexplicably wise in nature. He is lanky but astonishingly graceful, with ridiculously unkempt black hair and encompassing, unfathomable eyes that seem too big for his face. But even those features, which would've seemed weird on anybody else, compliment him perfectly.

"Where is the taskforce? And where is Otousan and Raito-niisan?" She questions at last, turning around to face him. Her nose almost touches his chest, and with a start Usagi is reminded of how tall L is. He slouches, almost leans towards her precariously, but it doesn't seem to deter his towering height at all.

Instinctively she takes a step back, and L purposely pulls her scarf off completely with the motion. She is wearing an off-white, meringue-patterned fleece pullover underneath and, on her, it reminds L of vanilla frosting in the most inappropriate way.

He grins.

Usagi stares at the strangely unsettling smile on his face, and wonders if it is another one of his quirks that she has yet to discover. Goosebumps raise the hairs at the back of her neck, and her lips and throat suddenly feel dry.

L peers at the scarf in his hand briefly, and then wraps it around his neck. The smell of strawberries and roses overwhelm him the moment he does.

"Ryuuzaki-kun?" Usagi blushes, feeling slightly unsettled by the gesture.

"The taskforce are out doing errands…" L mumbles easily, almost disinterestedly. He spares the details, his eyes occasionally shifting from Usagi to the shortcake on the table. "It is particularly busy today. We have come across a Second Kira, after all."

Usagi writes off the fact that he has blatantly stolen her scarf as another quirk of his, because he doesn't seem to want to explain himself, and she has learnt early on not to question his unique tendencies.

"Right, the copycat," She says contemplatively, but then she shakes her head in a dismissive manner. A faint pout puckers her lips together attractively.

L presses a thumb against his lips as he watches her expression unfold, his wide unblinking eyes giving the impression of fascination. Usagi isn't quite sure what's captivated him so, but she is unsettled nevertheless.

"Would you care to play another game of chess with me, Usagi-san?" L's long, spindly fingers gesture towards a round mahogany table placed against one corner of the room, a complete chess set on top of it and two welcoming plush loveseats tucked under either side facing parallel from each other.

Usagi considers reprimanding him for _yet again_ addressing her so formally, even when she insists that chivalry is long dead. But, for some reason, L is a gentleman at heart. So for now, she suppresses the urge.

With an uncanny grace that seems to clash with his simian posture and disheveled shock of pitch-black hair, L moves to stand behind one of the seats and pulls it out from under the table. He pats the top of the backrest invitingly, as if offering her the seat, the quirkiest gentleman Usagi has ever seen.

Her mind is sending her unmistakable warning bells, making her recall the many times L had won her at the decidedly challenging board game. It hasn't necessarily bothered her, not after the first 300 times, but he is behaving particularly quirky today.

If anything, L suddenly frightens her. Not in the unsafe hurtful way that is an all-round bad feeling, but in a way that makes her knees weak and her heart flutter and quicken, and all the times she'd think of him would make her slightly short of breath…

But maybe that kind of fear was the most dangerous of them all?

_'You're obviously exaggerating_…' She scolds herself, realizing that she has neither right nor reason to mistrust L. He is her friend, after all.

"Usagi-san…" Curiously, L inclines his head to one side, as if peering at her from another angle will help lessen his confusion at all. But knowing L, it probably does. "Are you alright?"

"Of course I am." _Of course I'm not._ Usagi smiles halfheartedly.

"Let's play chest," He suggests hopefully, "to loosen up a bit?"

"But the shortcake," Usagi says, almost whining. The idea of ignoring such a delicious treat seems unthinkable to Usagi.

Nodding once, L presses his thumb against the right corner of his lips, revealing a faint smile. "We shall eat it together while we play," he insists gently, patting her seat once more with his free hand. "Now, sit."

"Oh—right, sorry." Usagi blushes. L's lopsided smile has broadened a fraction, which only makes Usagi all the more embarrassed. '_He never misses a beat, does he…?'_ Firstly, she goes to put two plates of shortcake for the both of them, bringing them to the round table.

She walks up to the seat warily, and L obligingly scoots it further away so that she may ease her way between the table and the loveseat. Usagi then just stands there, feeling silly and uncertain with the plates in her hands.

L pushes the seat up, and the cushions harmlessly bump against her calves as if to implore her to take the weight off her feet.

"It would be prudent," L began, leaning into the backrest until he could faintly smell the whiff of strawberry-scented conditioner Usagi used regularly, "if you were to sit now, Usagi-san." His voice was glaringly close, profound and masculine and reverberating into her very bones. Usagi feels gooseflesh swarm the length of her arms, every nerve in her being shooting bolts of electricity from nowhere to nowhere.

"O…okay…?" She mumbles, a bit dazed, just as L's long hands cover her shoulders and ease her down onto her seat. His hands are warm and she suddenly feels cold when he withdraws.

_ 'What…what is _wrong_ with me?'_ Usagi mentally screams to herself, feeling very startled. Trembling slightly, she places the shortcakes on the table, folding her hands atop of the other and laying them neatly on her pleated black skirt.

There is a knock on the door that almost makes her jump out of her seat, but it turns out to be room service with two cups of whipped cream hot chocolate and two separate stirring spoons.

"Good, now we may begin," he says amiably, and there is a smile in his voice that is unmistakable. Usagi thinks, almost wildly, if he had been expecting her all along. She hadn't seen him order room service while she was present the whole time.

L takes the mugs from the hotel employee, thanks him noncommittally, and places them on their table.

Neither of them says a word for the longest time. Usagi doesn't even look at him, occasionally bringing stray fingers up to fiddle with her hair or tug at her shirt. The metallic clink against porcelain tells her that he is already begun eating his slice of shortcake.

More than anything else, she _feels _his stare. It is on her, all over her. It is almost tangible the way she knows he is looking at her, _the way_ he is looking at her, almost burning, almost smothering. Usagi feels herself perspire with the uncanny sense of discomfort. Any longer and she'd go insane with the stress.

Usagi keeps her eyes intent on the chessboard. Wordlessly, she slips a white pawn forward, straight into the battlefield. She delicately presses the timing buzzer and waits patiently for L's turn to end.

It almost seems premeditated, the way he places his own pitch-black Knight immediately afterwards. L tends to go for bold moves. He has such discreet and almost elegant methods of boasting, but she already knows that. It doesn't really matter, though, because Usagi rarely ever wins a game of chess against him.

Usagi stares at the chessboard, making a quirk out of chewing her bottom lip. She cautiously places another pawn into the board; her free hand makes a quirk of twirling stray curls of hair around her fingers and she absentmindedly runs her tongue along her bottom lip. For some reason she feels the need to glance up at L. He is caught staring at her but doesn't look away, a startlingly incomprehensible expression in his eyes.

Usagi shies away from his gaze and blushes. She presses the buzzer, but to her surprise L easily counters her move and eats her pawn, clicking the buzzer mere seconds after she had.

"Ugh, no fair!" Usagi pouts. She doesn't understand how she is loosing so easily. "How do you do that?" She glares at him lightly. He is sitting on his loveseat, his legs folded against his chest and his hands lying over his knees. It looks so uncomfortable, but he doesn't seem bothered in the least.

"I think 40 percent better sitting this way," he informs her flatly, "perhaps that is the case?"

"Oh really?" Usagi says, sounding sarcastic yet good-humored. She brings her legs up in a feminine mimic of L's posture, and hugs them closer to her chest. She presses her thumb against the right corner of her bottom lip, grinning playfully at him and trying hard not to blink.

L narrows his eyes very slightly, but whether he was annoyed or amused was unsure, until his lip stretches upward into a small lopsided smile.

Usagi doesn't dare blink, but her eyes soon begin to feel dry and tears materialize at the corners. She giggles ironically at how difficult it is to keep from blinking. "This is why you're the ingenious detective, and I'm just the lovable errand girl," she sighs, sounding relieved at the idea.

"Hmm. Lovable may be a stretch," L says musingly.

"Oh, now you're a comedian! That's just great, is there anything the amazing Ryuuzaki-kun can't do?" Usagi throws her hands in the air briefly, laughing. L laughs, too, albeit very softly.

Usagi grins at him, hugging her legs closer to her chest so that she may rest her chin against her knees.

L smirks that vague, mysterious smirk of his. He almost seems affectionate, the way he smiles at her. "You appear 30 percent lovelier than the previous week."

Usagi flinches slightly, startled and completely unprepared for that particular comment. Instinctively she looks up, at the same time staring straight into L's eyes, fathomless and dark and eerily all-knowing. Characteristically wide open, almost naively curious-like, unblinking, absorbing every detail of her until it is burned into his retinas. Usagi finds herself powerless to look away.

"I—ah, thank you…?" Usagi's eyelashes flutter and her eyes modestly return to the chessboard. She unwittingly pushes another pawn forward, her mind swarming with thoughts and yet, at the same time, drawing complete blanks.

L once again counters her move with ease, acting as if he had never heard her. "Why is that?" He continues, drawing his eyes away from the chessboard to look at her fully.

"I dunno…" Usagi flusters, feeling strangely ignorant and small under his gaze.

L looks at her seriously as he asks the question with even more of a somber voice, "Are you in love?"

"_What_?" Usagi gapes at him, her blush almost feverish now. "I…no! I'm not—"

"There is an 18 percent possibility that you are," L interrupts her impassively, bringing his thumb to his face once more and running it along his lower lip. Usagi stares at that insufferable thumb. "60 percent of women in general often wear flattering clothing or makeup when they are courting a possible spouse."

"You read into things too much, Ryuuzaki!" Usagi blusters, only slightly aware that she has disregarded honorifics. She tries to glare at him, but it contorts into a pout that only makes her look childish.

"You're wearing lip gloss," L affirms needlessly, taking a bite of shortcake and letting his fork linger in his mouth as he chews, "and it is apricot flavored, I presume?"

"I'm sorry, I hadn't realized we were playing a game of State the Obvious!" Usagi complains, her pout more pronounce now. By her tone, it is unmistakable that she is sulking, "In that case, you have terrible fashion sense!"

"Perhaps…" L mumbles, almost as though he is actually mulling over the statement, "But to worry about such things would decrease my IQ by 10 percent." Whether it is meant to be all in good jest, or an actual fact, is unsure.

"My _god_, it's always the percentages with you!" Usagi folds her arms across her chest and narrows her eyes indignantly. "Raito-niisan is a genius, but he has great hair and is stylish when he needs to be!" She feels the urge to stick her tongue out at him at that exact moment, but decides against it for fear that it may make her defense appear less mature.

"Well, then Raito-kun might not be as smart as you think." L's voice lowers with a hint of annoyance. He doesn't seem to enjoy being compared to Raito. "Are you finished?"

Usagi huffs, slightly annoyed that he would talk like that about her surrogate brother. "I'm finished when I want to be!"

"The timer," L gestures, vaguely disgruntled.

"Oh!" Usagi looks at the chessboard, panicking. "Uh, um, um…_ha_! King me!" Through some stroke of inconceivable luck, a winning move caught her eye. She places a white knight appropriately and the game is done.

"I believe the phrase is _checkmate_," L points out flatly, the corner of his lip curling upward in a surreptitious grin.

"Whatever, I still won! This is officially the greatest day of my life!" Usagi jumps out of her seat and stretches, as if she has just completed a tiring dispute and has came out the victor.

"Are you going to finish that?" L asks conversationally, eyeing her shortcake which was still untouched.

Usagi pouts. "Of course!" She retorts childishly, and brings her plate closer to her protectively.

L just nods understandably, a discreet smile still on his face, and continues eating small portions of his own piece of shortcake.

Usagi likes big portions, and she scoops up as much as she can with her own fork until it looks like it would topple over. She effectively closes her mouth around it, though, and when she finishes there is a small blotch of whipped cream at the corner of her mouth.

L feels a disturbingly irrational sense of starvation as he stares at her, fork dangling from his mouth. He blinks owlishly.

"I remember this one time," Usagi began, a memorable smile on her face, "Raito-niisan forgot his fork in my room." She takes a sip of her hot chocolate, which is unfortunately warm by now.

L raises his brow. "Usagi, what would your parents think if they found out you and Raito-kun were forking in your bedroom?"

Usagi lets out a muffled gasp into her cup of chocolate, but composes herself enough to keep it from spilling altogether. "Ew! Ryuuzaki-kun you are such a pervert!" She screeches, throwing a spoon harmlessly at his chest. It rebounds off of his chest and lands on his lap.

L picks up the plastic utensil with his thumb and forefinger, peering at it. And then at her. "Hmm…just wait till Raito-kun finds out we've been spooning together behind his back." A steel fork hits his forehead, but oddly enough he doesn't retaliate or seem to have felt any pain at all. He doesn't even blink.

"What was that for?" He asks tonelessly, appearing almost disinterested.

"_Pervert_!" She accuses deafeningly, pouting and blushing like mad. "Stop doing that!"

Slowly, L blinks. "Doing what?"

"That!" Usagi points at him with her finger, "Stop doing _that_! Stop acting like you're all doe-eyed and innocent!"

"I apologize," he mumbles sincerely, lips curling up like a leer.

'_Pff! Like that would make it all better…pervert…'_ Though it makes her guilty for assaulting him. She folds her arms across her chest and scoffs. Surely he had just been teasing, and harmless quips like that did not give her a rational initiative to throw things at him. Not really. And there was always the impression that L didn't quite know any better, for some reason—it was the harmless façade that oftentimes others mistook. Shouldn't she be the one apologizing?

"No, _I'm_ sorry." Usagi grumbles reluctantly, pouting. "I'm sorry I threw you my fork and spoon at you." She isn't about to abandon the good manners that her adoptive parents raised her with, no matter how much she wants to.

"Usagi-san, may I ask you a few questions?" There was something in his voice that glaringly sobered, a grave look in his eye that told her it was important.

"Sure." She didn't know what else to say.

"Do you love Raito?"

She feels her chest clench. She doesn't quite understand the question, but she assumes it is harmless. She hopes so. "I do. He's my big brother," she assures him, brows furrowing.

L smiles at her as if he knew better. _What _did he know? "Do you admire him?"

"Admire him how…?" She says slowly, almost cautiously.

L shrugs. "He is a very accomplished young man for his age, and has been estimably virtuous since helping me in this taskforce against Kira."

Usagi smiles fondly. "Yes, of course. I'm very proud of him, and my father, too. You're all risking your lives to bring justice to Kira. That's why I want to help you guys as much as I can. I admire you, too, Ryuuzaki-kun." She says this shyly. "But I really do admire my brother the most. He's still so young and has a promising future, but he's willing to risk it all for the sake of justice."

If L is flattered at all, he doesn't immediately show it. But he smiles and nods at her in acknowledgement. "Of course, by helping us, you're risking your life, too."

Usagi breathes in sharply.

L continues as if he doesn't notice, "Kira will not hesitate to kill anyone who gets in his way, and that includes even the most insignificant of opposers. He thinks he's a god, after all. And you're helping the taskforce that is the very bane of his existence."

Usagi doesn't flinch. Her eyes narrow. "Then I guess I'm admirable, too. But I don't care. If my Raito-niisan can do it than so can I." She almost sounds forceful, and self-righteous. "And I think this Q&A is over." Usagi pushes her chair back with her feet and stands up abruptly.

"Can I try one more thing, Usagi? It won't be anymore questions, I promise." L gracefully rouses himself off his seat as well.

Usagi looks at him hopelessly, feeling a little vulnerable. "What?" She sighs, like a lazy parent that obliges to the whim of a spoilt child.

And then, in one fluid move, he closes the distance between them. His long fingers caress her face and it's as if his touch paralyzes her, because she can't find the will to move. He's warm and soft, and when he presses his sultry mouth against hers she feels like a weight has been lifted off of her chest.

She wraps her arms around his torso, fingernails' clinging to his back almost desperately as she awkwardly kisses him back, and the flimsy baggy pullover he wears is so thin that she could feel her curves press against solid muscle. She doesn't expect it and squeaks in surprise, and he giggles like he's amused by her virgin innocence.

His tongue smoothes over her bottom lip and she immediately pulls away with a muffled yelp. She stumbles back, gaping at him.

He licks his lips and then touches them with his fingertips, almost thoughtfully, and then grins at her. He looks pleased. "It appears that you aren't the second Kira, after all, Usagi-chan. You've certainly proved me wrong."

Usagi flushes and slaps him across the face. "_Pervert_!" She screams incredulously, and stalks out of the suite. The door slams.

…

L's fingers are still pressed to his mouth when Raito enters the room from another adjoining suite.

Raito peers at L suspiciously. He had been in the other room the entire time, but had not been given a visual on the situation. He could only hear what was happening through a hidden radio. "Well?"

"Well what?" L blinks at him innocently, a little dazedly.

Raito glares at him defiantly. "Are you convinced that Usagi-chan isn't the 2nd Kira?"

"Yes," L licks his lips again and grins.

Raito adds in anticipation, "And am _I _no longer a suspect as well?"

L looks at him directly, eyes unblinking and suddenly aware. "No, I'm afraid not."

"Damn it, Ryuuzaki…" Raito's eyes narrow in frustration. "What will persuade you otherwise?"

L leers broadly, "Well you certainly aren't capable of persuading me the way Usagi had."

Behind Raito, Ryuuk cackles wickedly. "He's right, you know. I peaked," the Shinigami purrs, "But it was certainly fun to watch. _So_ much more interesting than when you'd try to prove _your_ innocence."

Raito scowls murderously, wondering why he felt the sudden urge to punch L square in the face.

-

**END.**

-

**Note: **  
I kind of got lazy near the end, so I wasn't paying attention to avoiding OOCness, typos, or general stupidness. Plus I haven't slept since 2 PM and it's around 11 AM now. I'm tired. T.T Sorry if this seems weird or if L seemed OOC. Besides, who knows what _really _goes on in L's head, anyway? It's not hard to figure out Raito because he's a narcissistic mad genius with a god-complex; a textbook sociopath. And Ryuuk is just…Ryuuk. XD

I had this story since forever, like around the time Death Note started airing in Adult Swim. This proves I'm a habitual procrastinator prone to Writer's Block. But thank goodness I've finally finished this!! This is one-shot dedicated to everyone who wanted more _L__**x**__Usagi_ in the Sailor Moon X-over category. :3 L FTW!

…

_**Peace,**_

– _**Moony **_


End file.
